Eva Mendes Reveals All

Written by PETA | December 6, 2007

Eva Mendes—the gorgeous star of Training Day, Hitch, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Ghost Rider, and most recently the brilliant We Own the Night featuring Mark Wahlberg and our old friend Joaquin Phoenix—is also the new face of our winter anti-fur campaign. Once you’ve had a long look at this stunning new anti-fur ad, take a deep breath and check out what Eva had to say when she sat down with us for this PETA Files exclusive interview about what led her to speak out about the cruel treatment of animals in the fur industry:

How did you come to get involved with helping animals? Did you have any animal companions growing up?

I love animals, but I hadn’t had a pet since I was a kid. I recently got a dog and he’s not only made me a happier girl—he’s made me much more sympathetic to animal rights. I look at my beautiful dog and think, “Of course I’d never eat him or skin him for his fur, so why would I be okay with eating a cow or wearing a cheetah?” It’s just not right. It’s a contradiction.

Do you have any animals? Can you tell us about them?

I recently got the most beautiful dog in the world! He’s the sweetest thing ever. He’s fully trained and all his commands are in French. Too cute! So I’m learning French and he’s learning Spanish!

What drew you to the idea of working with PETA on our “Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” Campaign?

I wasn’t familiar with PETA early in my career. I remember having my first premiere in New York City and being so naive that I didn’t have a coat with me. My stylist sent me a fur wrap for the evening and I ignorantly wore it.

PETA then wrote me a beautiful letter commenting on my less-than-educated choice. I was so impressed that I vowed to them and myself to never wear real fur on the red carpet or in my life again.

As a fashion icon in Hollywood, do you find that people put pressure on you to wear fur on the red carpet? If so, how do you handle that?

A lot of the high-end designers are unfortunately still big on fur, but I simply let them know that I won’t wear it on the red carpet or for photo shoots. People are pretty respectful and don’t try to pressure me to wear fur (smart for them … haha).

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Can you tell us about the projects you are working on right now and also about your film We Own The Night?

We Own The Night is a crime thriller set in the late 1980s about two brothers on opposite sides of the law. I play the girlfriend of Joaquin Phoenix, a manager for a club involved with the Russian Mafia, whose brother (played by Mark Wahlberg) is a cop targeting the Mafia for drug involvement. It’s a great cast, and it was such a thrill to play opposite actors like Joaquin, Mark, and Robert Duvall. I’ve also just finished filming The Women, which was very cool, and I’m just starting a really amazing project called The Spirit.

What issue involving animals is dearest to your heart? Also, you have a lot of fans out there which gives you a powerful platform to reach people and make a difference: What is your message to them about having compassion and getting active to help animals?

I’d say the closest animal rights issue to me right now is being anti-fur. I feel like in recent years, due to pop culture, fur has made a comeback. Some people still see wearing fur as glamorous and a sign of prosperity. Personally I think wearing a baby chinchilla says, “I’m ignorant,” vs. saying “I’m a badass.” I don’t think you can force people to change their attitudes, but you can help to educate them and to lead by example. … There are way too many amazing faux fur options out there for people to still be wearing real fur. I want people to know that there are options; that killing a poor animal and wearing it isn’t cool. But respecting all life forms is cool. Very cool.

The comments from the animal hatersusersabuserskillers are really pathetic. Stick your hand or any limb in a trap and also see if being flayed alive feels good. Go for it! Let’s see if you’d enjoy donating your skin while still alive. How about losing limbs crushed in a trap? Having fun yet being the one trapped??? Maybe you would enjoy anal electrocution or having your head stomped on?

You guys barely know what you’re fighting against and you all have doublestandards when it comes to human aswell as animalrights. It’s damn pathetic and the latest articles and TVshows really set all the stuff in perspective.

Kat I don’t think that ANYONE in this day in age has to rely on fur coats to keep warm. Rick you are a lowdown piece of crap. I feel very sorry for you. Animals were on this planet before humans were so your logic doesn’t make any sense. I really wish PETA would use celebs who are vegan for these antifur ads. I don’t really care for a fur ad with Eva Mendes who wears leather and eats meat or Steve O who used animals in his disgusting stunts as a form of sick entertainment on Jackass. I don’t buy into that. Don’t use celebs who wouldn’t wear fur but would have a crocodile bite them in the ass or who wear cashmire and leather.

caboose said arent the faux fur options made from petroleum?… and just how is petroleum an animal product?… maybe you and your bud al GorE should go hug a tree.. as for coon slayer get a feel for fur. stick your dk in a wall socket..

I AM HAPPY TO HEAR ANOTHER PERSON IS FOLLOWING THERE BETTER INSTINCTS. GOD GAVE ANIMALS BEATING HEARTS THE CAPACITY TO FEEL PAIN THE CAPACITY TO BLEED THE SENSE TO HAVE FEAR. TRUST IN GOD. MANY PEOPLE HAVE LOST GOD IN THERE LIVES AND WHAT SIN REALLY IS. PEOPLE CAN TRY TO JUSTIFY WHAT THEY DO AS RIGHT BECAUSE THEY FEAR WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS WRONG. IS IS MUCH EASIER TO DO THE WRONG THING THAN THE RIGHT THING. IF I WAS WEALTHY I WOULD DONATE EVERYTHING I HAD TO PETA. LET IT GO WERE THEY WANT IT TO. THE BOTTOM LINE IS COULD YOU GET EVA TO EVEN SPEAK TO YOU? I BET THEY DID NOT HAVE TO PAY HER A DIME. THEY ARE THE WORLDS LARGEST ANIMAL RESCUE ASSOCIATION DOING GODLY THINGS. THEY SHOULD BE COMPLETELY FUNDED THREW THE GOVERNMENT!! ANY ANYONE WHO THINKS ANOTHER CREATURE ON EARTH SHOULD HAVE TO BE TORTURED FOR THEM TO LIVE ON EARTH HAS A LOT TO THINK ABOUT. COWARDS!

Common Sense Steve you said “when a celebrity states that she is against fur but wore them in a movie that just came out a month ago… what does that mean to you petaphiles?” Um it usually means A the movie was filmed many MANY months ago probably before Ms. Mendes was made aware of the cruelty of the fur industry B the production’s wardrobe dept. probably used faux fur esp. since it doesn’t cost as much and C it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind! When I was a child I had a rabbit fur jacket and ate hamburgers. I was ignorant about the fur industry and factory farming. After I educated myself and BTW my research went WAY beyond PETA’s website I stopped eating meat and wearing fur. Am I a hypocrite because once upon a time I didn’t know better? Never mind you probably won’t answer this anyway.

Steve If the movie came out a month ago it was actually shot quite a while back postproduction and all. She may have been wearing fake fur or she may have changed her mind on the matter in the meantime. People are allowed to do that you know.

common nonsense steve you know too well what we are talking about you are a dirty coward looser do you understand it now? the same thing goes to the coon slayer people like you have no honor and i don’t give a fuck how i’m talking with scum like you by the way i can also write nicely and in a very educated way i’m the animalfriend if the limited capacities of your brains permit to study the petafiles! go to fuck each other in hell you polluting jerks! petaphile

hey don quijote please get together with old spiderwoman and please learn a new language because i can’t understand a friggin word you are saying….. either way… please answer my allegation and stop trying to insult and degrade me because i take it as a major compliment from you manics…. and once again lets put it out there…. when a celebrity states that she is against fur but wore them in a movie that just came out a month ago… what does that mean to you petaphiles?

Fabulous. I love it when I see someone from the Spanish community speaking out and baring it all for our lovely animal friends. We’ve all been duped into believing that it is OK to eat animals and to slaughter them for fur or use them for experiments but the lies from HELL are now being exposed. Thank God.

Kat makes a very good point. It is a freedom of choice and no one can be forced to not wear fur. We have the freedom of choice with anything and everything in our lives. When making any type of decisions people choose the best choices. With that in mind why would you choose to wear fur KNOWING the cruelty involved behind it? Even if you like fur you have the choice to not wear something that caused so much suffering to animals. Why not make the better choice? It is so simple not to wear fur and it makes so much sense. I can’t believe that people actually fight for the right to wear the skin of an animal that was most likely skinned alive and that howeled in pain.

What is synthetic fur and many other forms of clothing made from. Sounds like Peta is in bed with the petrochemical industry. Better try harder folks wild fur prices are as high as they have been in a decade. Support freerange pollution free organic clothing sources and go trap a coyote!!

ONE WONDERS IF PETA WOULD HAVE TOLD “CAVEMEN” TO GO BARE RATHER THAN WEAR ANIMAL SKINS THEIR ONLY SOURCE OF CLOTHING? I CHOOSE TO NOT WEAR FUR BUT NOBODY HAS A RIGHT TO DEMAND PEOPLE CONFORM AND GIVE UP THEIR FREEDOM OF CHOICE! TO EACH HIS OR HER OWN!!!!

since you left out my 2 earlier blogs lets try again eva mendes wore furs in WE OWN THE NIGHT ” AND PETAPHILE CELEBRITY HEARTTHROB JOAQUIN PHOENIX WORKED FOR A MAFIA LORD WHO ALSO WAS A FURRIER…. WHAT DOES THAT ALL MEAN THEY’S RATHER GO NAKED THAN WEAR FURS EXCEPT WHEN IT COMES TO GETTING PAID AND THEN LIKE MOST OF YOUR CELEBRITY STABLE…. THEN DON’T GIVE A FUR ABOUT THE PETA AGENDA…. PETA HYPOCRICY…..

peta maybe this shall not appear here as you like a personal proposal send ‘the rather go naked’ pictures of eva mendes and roselyn sanchez to eva longoria together with joaquin phoenix i think she would do an antifur ad! i know that she is wearing fur but i’m sure that she is uninformed but she loves animals has several dogs! i have a good feeling!

Here’a an idea Let’s send these ignorant callous self indulgent selfserving celebr eties to the “nightmare” we know to be the fur farms then force them to go through the vile process the little animals go through. If only we could really do itEva Mendes and many other celebrities are a “gift” to the animals.

Rick check out PETA’s financial statement they describe their range of salaries and you will see just how “rich” these PETA staffers are and I am sure they work more than 40 hours per week because it is not just a job for them they are devoted to helping animals and they do not expect to make money doing it. You will also see that only a very small fraction of their budget goes to salaries and other administrative costs. I don’t quite know how people could have been wearing fur “since the beginning of time” nor how animals could have been put on the earth for humans to eat since there were dinosaurs and other animals on this earth hundreds of millions of years before humans ever existed. You must be one of those psychopath types who don’t care about the suffering these animals have to endure or maybe you just have not bothered to watch the videos because you are too afraid that you might have to change your way of thinking. Fur only looks good on the animals to whom it belongs. I don’t even like the look of fake fur because it still looks like someone is wearing a dead animal though I would never actually oppose someone who chooses faux fur instead of real fur. And I would not “bet” on anything if I were you Rick the people on these blogs who are animal rights activists would never think of wearing a scrap of fur leather wool silk or cashmere. Way to go Eva keep spreading the word!

She was gorgeous and hot in We Own the Night that first scene! WOW!. She is 1000 times more beautiful for her compassionate heart. Thank you Peta and thank you Eva! hey what’s up with that dude Rick he seems angry. Poor pitiful thing…

Rick your primitive blogging doesn’t impress me at all! The ugly three four women you mentioned are passe since a long long time ago and eva longoria is a victim her dad always took her out for hunting when she was a child and by the way you forgot jlo and if you would be honest you would admit that they are the ugliest ones among the celebs from the inner point of view i mean! but the inside is always showing the outside! haa! wrap yourself into your bloody furs and live in your sharon stonecave until you rot soused spasmodic splasher!

Rick You must look like a sweet sissy in the skins of the other animals. You write comments indicating your ignorance and cruel nature. As far as PETA and their supporters being morons you haven’t got an iota of my intelligence let alone my compassion for all sentient beings. Your comment simply indicated that you have not evolved from the state of being an amoeba. Overkill with the cap. letters. Fool!

Thank you Eva Mendes you are a real shining star for all of us people and animals! You give us the most precious Christmasgift your loving heart and Heaven shall never forget this great thing neither shall i and when our days on this dark planet shall end and the eternal light appears i shall raise my hand and call your name!!!

Interesting. They just showed her on TMZ shopping with Kate Hudson who was wearing a disgusting full length white fur coat. Wonder if Eva could try to influence her ignorant celebrity friends too? Also they were saying how fur was making a comeback in Hollywood. I would love to see more pressure put on these celebrities. They showed Eva Longoria Madonna Kate Hudson and Sarah Jessica Parker. Also those hideous Olsen twins are still covering themselves in dead animals. Absolutely disgusting!!

From Brit to Liza Fur Flies for Femmes Posted Dec 4th 2007 202PM by TMZ Staff Filed under Fashion Police Critters Looks like some celebs still aren’t hiding from wearing a dead animal in the name of fashion. Even as the antifur movement gets more vociferous TMZ in just one weekend spotted Britney Spears Liza Minnelli Eve Mary J. Blige Sharon Stone and even Madonna furnished with all manner of furish coats. We’re told that Britney proudly took her shagerrific and very real fur coat at her birthday party in Bel Air. PETA as ever took Liza to task for her outerwear telling TMZ in a statement that it “hopes that Liza who abstained from fur for years gets back on the wagon of compassion.” As for Sharon Stone the antifur brigade was less charitable saying “Put your fur coat away Sharon.” Reps for Eve Sharon Stone Liza and Madonna haven’t yet gotten back to us about the provenance of their clients’ coats. One notable exception Sarah Jessica Parker wearing a lovely Star Warsesque fur coat usually we’re told wears fake fur. KUDOS FOR THESE WOMEN WHO WILL NOT BACK DOWN TO YOUR IDIOTIC TH9NKING…PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WEARING FUR SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME…AND MIGHT I ADD EATING MEAT. THESE WOMEN LOOK GORGEOUS IN THESE FURS..I DO OWN A MINK COAT AND IT IS MY FAVORITE. I’D RATHER DONATE MONEY TO HUMAN LIFE INSTEAD OF SOME ANIMAL THAT WAS PUT ON THIS EARTH FOR FOOD…WVER HEAR OF THE CIRCLE OF LIFE. AND I BET HALF YOU PETA SAPS HAVE LEATHER BELTS SHOES ETC…..TO SHARON BRITNEY MARY J BLIGE…YA LOOK HOT IN THOSE FURS..DONT LET THESE PATHETIC MORONS TELL YOU ANY DIFFERENT. THEY ARE JUST ANOTHER USELESS CHARITY THAT PUTS ANIMALS LIVES BEFORE HUMAN LIVES..PETA IS A BUNCH OF SELF SERVING IDIOTS…ASK THEM HOW MUCH OF THOSE DONATIONS GO TO THEIR SALARIES?

wow peta and eva! this time i’m out of my sockets! my favorite actress in this beauuuuuuuuuuuutiful stunning ad! i’m overflowing sorry but i have some south italian roots and hence i have to show my temperament but this is a real christmas surprise and surely joaquin poenix also moved a bit his magic wand!!!

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